Animals in the Great War. A book by Eugenio Bucciol

It is sometimes hard to trace
a clear difference between men and animals, not to talk about the – by somebody
supported – thesis of the superiority of the first on the latter in the
everyday life. This is true especially if we take in consideration the history
of the First World War. Especially during wars, all optimistic anthropocentric
attitudes are questioned insofar we often witness such a brutalizing of human
beings that they seem to turn into beasts, more ferocious and stupid than
animals usually are (and we do not need to list some examples to explain what
we mean, just turn on the television or read a newspaper). Yet, in extreme
situations such as the Great War the distinction between them seems to dwindle
in another way: men and animals cooperated providing each other both a physical
and an emotional support. Sharing the common effort to survive the destructive
force of the conflict, they became co-protagonists of the history, as if the
natural dynamics, to which each of them reacts, could overlap in the tiny space
of a trench or in the epic scenario of the battlefield.

Let's think for example at
the deep relationship soldiers developed towards their horses, or the
unexpected comfort that pets or mascots - among others cats - provided to the
men in the trenches or in the military camps behind the front line (have a look
to this photo, the tender caress of a soldier on a fox). And yet, their
cooperation in wartime can not even be reduced to a peaceful and idyllic
coexistence; it preserved on the contrary a potential tension. Animals were
often just utilized for immediate military requirements (we've already recalled
the example of pigeons and dogs) and sacrificed to the final victory (a fate
they shared with the simple soldiers, just think about some pictures took on
battlefield after a defeat of a cavalry troop). They provided the nourishment
to the troops which occupied new territories. And again, men and animals
engaged also a "war in the war": rats and mice plagued soldiers'
lives, not to talk about the smaller insects hovering or buzzing in and
around the trenches. In short, the connection between animals and men during
the Great War was much nuanced, and it deserves probably more attention than it
had up to now.

We guess that Eugenio Bucciol
had this in mind as he wrote his wonderful book Animali al fronte (Animals
on the frontline), edited by Nuova Dimensione in 2003. The reader can for
sure find today many works dealing with the topic, but we have to admit that
the volume by Bucciol has a "plus". Focusing on the "animal
perspective", he tries to write a "parallel history" of the
Great War, telling us the story of all the creatures, great or small, that took
part in the conflict. The first chapter of the volume provides the reader a short
survey of the "unknown" protagonists of the Great War. We meet so
horses, mules and donkeys, who provided the quickest form of transport and
remained the primary source of power needed to transport guns to and from the
front line; and then dogs and pigeons, which we have already mentioned; then
animals - such as pigs and cattle - used to nourish the army (the Author
discusses some episode related to the Austro-Hungarians in the Venetian region
after the rout of Caporetto), and finally the parasites. It is however the
second chapter that offers very interesting and touching sources and represents
the "plus" of this volume, since it is made up of a large collection
of pictures, most of them the Author collected in the Austrian War Archives in
Vienna, where Bucciol lived for a long time. The photographic materials are
arranged according to a "geographic distribution": the Italian Front,
the French Front, the Russian and the Galicia Front, that of the Ottoman Empire
and of the German and Austro-Hungarian territories. Leafing through this
section the reader is kept in a whirlwind not only of images but also of
emotions, which cannot easily put in order; yet because of that he can get a
vivid impression of the history of the Great War, as if it was told us by the
animals. The reach photographic material makes this work usable by everybody,
no matter which is the mother-language. (Thanks to the courtesy of the
publisher and of the author, we will soon offer to our
readers some of the most interesting gems collected in this volume. So stay
tuned and don't miss the next posts on WWI and Animals!)

ACROSS THE RIVER

Dear Visitor,

welcome to World War I Bridges, the Italy-based radar of First World War legacy and initiatives in the pipeline for the Centenary. Our interests are in the "units" here below and military equipment is not on the top of our minds. You can surf this site also starting from these "units".

Why Bridges? The armies used to explode the bridges in war operations. We now try to build new bridges during the WWI Centenary from Maserada sul Piave, a small Italian village along the Piave River.

Terms and conditions

All content provided on this blog is for informational purposes only. The owner of this blog makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site. The owner will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information nor for the availability of this information. The owner will not be liable for any losses, injuries, or damages from the display or use of this information. These terms and conditions of use are subject to change at anytime and without notice.As for our suggested itineraries, though every possible effort to provide accurate information on this site, you are solely responsible for interpreting and using this information to organize your trip and excursion and to evaluate all potential hazards according to your own capacities and risks inherent to the different natural environments.

World War I in Maserada sul Piave

Maserada sul Piave is a small town in the North-East of Italy (Venice area), located in the middle course of the river Piave. After the notorious rout of Caporetto (October 1917), the river Piave became the Italian extreme defensive front. This location and the river Piave are particularly interesting in the scenario of the three main battles of the last year of the Great War: the First Piave Battle (November 1917), the Battle of the Solstice (known as Battle of Middle June 1918) and the final Battle of Vittorio Veneto, that led to the Armistice between Italy and Central Powers. In this locations, the British and the Italian armies faced together the Austro-Hungarians. The British Army was stationed here and that's why our village is an example of a location shared by two national armies cooperating in war operations. The museum located in the village is aiming to become a reference point in Italy for the history of a foreign contingent, namely what we know as the British Campaign in Italy 1917-1918. Since 2008 it has been building local and international partnerships in order also to create events and organize battlefield tours in this area.

Can you build a WWI Bridge with us?

If you're a Great War enthusiast; if you think of having something interesting to point out; if you think that the memory of the Great War should grow around a network of people constantly sharing views on this; if you think that war was not and is not only a matter of weapons; if you stop a second when you read the words "First" and "World"; if you sometimes think that the Great War centenary is getting closer; if you quiver every time you watch Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory; if you strongly believe that the real challange is to find new strategies to tell the story of this war to the digital natives. Briefly, if you discover yourself twanging like a chord every time you get close to this topic and if you wish to throw new bridges around First World War knowledge, we would be more than happy to listen to your suggestions, comments and opinions.

Please take a look also to the web site of the friends of the Maserada World War I Museum and write your emails to this address. You may also follow us on Twitter.Thank you for connecting though WWI Bridges!